Together Forever
by Strifegirl
Summary: When Kushina found out that she was going to be the next Jinchuriki, she completely vanished without a trace. Minato realized that she was gone and begins to worry about her. He didn't want to lose his best friend and he searches for her everywhere.


Written by Strifegirl

Pair: Minato/Kushina

Type: One-Shot

Summary: When Kushina found out that she was going to be the next Jinchuriki, she completely vanished without a trace. Minato realized that she was gone and begins to worry about her. He didn't want to lose his best friend and he searches for her everywhere.

Timeline: After the kidnapping of Kushina.

Disclaimer: Naruto and its characters are owned by Masashi Kishimoto. No copyright infringement intended.

**"Together Forever"**

That day, Minato had returned from a mission and was eager to see his friend the redhead. He wanted to show her the new jutsu that he had been developing for weeks, perfecting it during his missions.

There was a slight smile on his face as he walked to her apartment. He didn't know why he was so happy whenever he was with her and the thought of seeing her again put him in a good mood. Despite her tough looks and the fact that she wasn't as girly as the other girls from his fan club, Kushina was the only one who didn't see him as an idol and Minato felt very comfortable when she was around.

When he arrived at her apartment, the first thing he noticed was that the front door was open. He knocked a couple of times but there was no response. Without thinking twice, Minato entered the apartment and found the place was a mess. There were many things littered on the floor, thrown there by someone. After making sure that Kushina wasn't there, Minato left the apartment and headed back to the village to search for her at the Ramen restaurant. While he did, he kept thinking about what could have happened, for some reason he felt like something was wrong and hastened his steps.

He finally arrived at Ichiraku Ramen, one of her favorite places in Konoha.

"Well now, look who's here. The Yellow Flash of Konoha," Teuchi said.

"Hello Teuchi-san." He bowed. "Have you seen Kushina by any chance?" he asked politely.

"Kushina? Um... no, I haven't seen her all day," he said rubbing his chin. "It's very strange because she always comes at lunch for a bowl of Ramen."

"I see." Minato lowered his eyes as he thought.

"Is something wrong?"

"Nah, everything's fine. I just need to keep looking," he said smiling. "Thanks anyway Teuchi-san!" He bowed again and then went to the next place.

Minato arrived at the training camp where he and Kushina practiced their ninja techniques, but she wasn't there either. Then he went to the entrance of Konoha, then to the hospital, and then to the cemetery, followed by the academy, the park, the lake, and even the library. He looked everywhere, but he could not find Kushina anywhere.

Minato was getting more nervous when she didn't appear. He was afraid that something bad had happened and all he could think about was the incident a couple of nights ago when they tried to kidnap her. Apparently, Kushina had a special type of chakra and many villages had tried to steal that power.

While he desperately searched for her, he ended up on the hot springs, where he met his sensei, the legendary Sannin, Jiraiya.

"Oi, Minato! What are you doing here boy?" he said surprised. "Did you come here to take a look at these beauties?" he said teasing.

"No. I'm looking for Kushina," said the blonde. "Have you seen her?" he asked, worried.

When he saw his face full of concern, Jiraiya stopped what he was doing and went up to his student.

"Hmm ... She's probably training as usual," he told Minato, trying to calm him.

"No. I've been to the training camp and she's not there." Minato lowered his head.

"And why don't you ask Sandaime? Perhaps she was sent on a mission."

A gleam of hope brightened Minato's face. He was so worried about her that he didn't consider the idea that maybe she was on a mission. However, that didn't entirely reassure him.

"You're right, sensei. I'll ask Sandaime right away."

And in the blink of an eye, the blond was out of sight.

Jiraiya only smiled when he saw that his pupil was so worried about her. Who would have thought that he would get along with her so well.

A few minutes later, Minato arrived at the Hokage's office. As usual, Sandaime was signing and reviewing some paperwork so he couldn't see him at the time. However, Minato was determined to find out about Kushina's whereabouts, so he used Hiraishin no jutsu to talk to him privately.

"I could not expect less from you Namikaze Minato," said Sandaime with a smile.

"Excuse my intrusion, Sandaime-sama," Minato bowed. "But I need to ask you something; it's urgent."

"Tell me, what do you want to ask that cannot wait?" the Hokage folded his arms.

"Well, you see ... I'm looking for a teammate and I was wondering if she was in the village right now."

"Hmm ... Are you wondering if Kushina Uzumaki is in the village?" he said with a slight smile and Minato blushed a little when he heard her name. Sandaime couldn't help laughing a little at the boy's expression and told him what was happening.

"Don't worry, Kushina's fine. She just needs to be alone for awhile."

"Alone?" That word caught Minato's attention. "Did something happen?" he asked, worried.

"Nothing that time can not heal."

"Sandaime-sama, please tell me what's wrong with Kushina and why the other villages want her power! After the kidnapping incident, I've been more alert than ever thinking about what could happen if she falls into enemy hands. I want to be sure what I'm facing and I want to be able to protect her," he said seriously.

Sandaime saw through his words that his intentions were sincere. He was very concerned about his kunoichi friend and the Hokage had no choice but to tell him all about Kushina Uzumaki and the reason of why she was in the village.

At first, Minato was very surprised to hear what the Uzumaki clan was capable of doing, but then his face changed to hear the truth about Kushina. It was a hard blow for her to have to accept this fate as a Jinchuriki, but nevertheless, Minato didn't change his mind about Kushina. For him, she was more than that.

After talking to Sandaime, Minato returned to the village to keep looking for Kushina. Now, more than ever, he needed to find her and to be with her. It was during times like these that you need to have a friend by your side. She always denied it, but she hated to be alone, and since Minato and she began to get along, they became inseparable. There was nothing they wouldn't do together. Despite their differences, they both supported each other in their own way and that kind of tie made their bond a lot stronger.

It was getting late, and still he couldn't find her.

"Where could she be?" he wondered wearily. "I've already searched the entire village." He sat on a nearby bench.

Without realizing it, the person he had been looking for so tirelessly was very close to him. Minato didn't notice her until he heard a slight sob coming from the tree. All this time she had been hidden in the branch of a tree to avoid the others.

Minato turned his head toward the redhead and he narrowed his eyes as he smiled with relief. He approached the tree where she was and tried to talk to her from below.

"There you are!" he said smiling. "I've been looking for you everywhere. Do you know how worried I was?" he crossed his arms trying to look serious.

Kushina didn't answer back and kept her head down to avoid eye contact. She didn't want anyone to see her in that state, not even her best friend.

"Is something wrong?" he asked anxiously.

"Leave me alone. I'm not in the mood to deal with anyone," she said as she hid her face between her knees.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing! Just go!" said the redhead.

Minato's face saddened to see the state in which she was in. He climbed the tree to sit next to Kushina who simply hid her face behind her hair.

"Kushina, tell me, why are you crying?" he pleaded.

"I'm not crying!" she said angrily. Kushina blushed at how close it was to him and turned her head away. "I ... I have something in my eye ..." she rubbed her eyes.

"Kushina ... You know you can tell me anything ..." he said softly.

"I don't think you would understand ..."

"Try me."

Kushina raised her eyes to look in his blue ones. Minato gave her a warm smile to cheer her up and she blushed again. The way her cheeks turned red made her look so cute and Minato thought that red was the best color that suited her.

Kushina lowered her head again and tried to explain what was happening.

"I've just learned something that is going to change my entire life," she said dully. "And the truth is ... I'm a little scared ..." she squeezed her hand.

He have never seen her so vulnerable. In a way, she looked kinda cute and something about her made him feel the urge to protect her

"I know. Sandaime told me what happened."

Kushina was surprised to hear him say that. "He did?" she said surprised. Of all people, Minato was the most important. She was afraid that he would not accept her for being a Jinchuriki and that he woul never speak to her again, because deep down, she had feelings for him.

"And... what else did he tell you?" she lowered her head.

"It doesn't matter," he said. "For me, none of that is important as long as you keep being who you are."

Once again, Kushina looked up and lost herself in his deep blue eyes.

"I know you're afraid that the others will never accept you for being an outsider, and now that you will be a Jinchuriki, things might get a little weird. But I want you to know that no matter what happens, I will always be by your side supporting you." He smiled tenderly.

Kushina couldn't believe what she was hearing and she began to shed more tear of happiness. Minato narrowed his eyes at her while he dried her tears, and without realizing it, Kushina rushed to him and pressed a chaste kiss on his lips. Minato's eyes widened at the contact with her lips and gets petrified. It was the first time someone ever kissed him and to think that he was kissing Kushina Uzumaki made him blush even more.

After seeing that there was no reaction from the blonde, Kushina separated her lips from his and immediately blushed.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to... I mean ... it wasn't what… Oh, I'm so sorry!" she said, embarrassed, and she ran away after that.

Minato on the other hand, was still seeing stars and swayed from side to side, which caused him to lose his balance and ended up falling from the tree. While he was on the ground, he couldn't help feeling like an idiot. He never thought a girl like her would be able to cause this effect, and later after that, there was no doubt that the Yellow Flash of Konoha was in love with Red Habanero.

The End

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN: Hey there MinaKushi fans! :D I would like to thank Katie Traush for helping me out with the beta correction in this story :) You did an awesome job with my bad english XD **_

_**This was actually my first contribution for this couple and I've always wanted to write somehing about them :D**_

_**I wrote this after watching episode 246 from Naruto Shippuden :3 so I hope you guys enjoy it! x3**_

_**I might write another chap for this one but I still don't know yet XD**_

_**Disclaimer: Naruto and its characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto. No copyright infringement intended.**_


End file.
